OS

Ubuntu 15.10, aptly code-named Wily Werewolf, will officially debut this week from Canonical, bringing with it a surprising number of new features. Here's what to expect in the newest version of the popular Linux-based open source operating system.

There are many Linux distributions out there which are designed to look like Windows and this guide lists the best ones. Why stop there though? Why not list Linux distributions that look like OSX, ChromeOS and Android as well.

KaOS Linux calls itself a "lean KDE Distribution", and it is certainly that, at least in terms of what is actually offered for download. Go to the KaOS Download page and you will find exactly one file (a 1.6GB hybrid Live ISO image) with one desktop (KDE Plasma 5.4) and one architecture (64 bit). No huge 'all-in' 4+ GB installer or tiny 'netinst' core-only installer, no other desktops (not even community editions), and no 32-bit version. Lean and focused.

A new update to OpenIndiana is available, the operating system powered by Illumos that's derived from what was the OpenSolaris code-base prior to it being killed by Oracle. OpenIndiana 2015.10 "Hipster" is the name of this new release.

The Solus operating system was supposed to launch on October 1, but it looks like it's running a little bit late. Its developers have had a number of small setbacks, but things seem to be back on track now.

GNU Hurd – microkernel and part of GNU Project. Hurd means “Hird of Unix-Replacing Daemons”, Hird – “Hurd of Interfaces Representing Depth. Total recursion! Development started in 1990 (before Linux kernel) as part of plans to create fully free and open source operation system. Unlike the Linux kernel Hurd have a lot of system daemons (you can see it on video) run by GNU Mach microkernel and some specific system protocols. Popularity of Linux lowered Hurd’s priority, but project progress all this 25+ years.

RancherOS is a container-native operating system designed solely for running Docker containers. It’s one of 6 operating systems designed just for Docker and other container runtimes in active development.

On an operating system of that nature, you need containers for providing system-wide services other than running applications. They are called system containers in Project Atomic, a container-native OS developed by the folks at Fedora. In this linked-to blogged post, Ivan Mikushin from Rancher, the company developing RancherOS, shows how to use Docker Compose to create such system containers.

Linux Foundation: New Members, Certifications and Microsoft Entryism

The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, announced the addition of 22 Silver members and 4 Associate members. Linux Foundation members help support development of the shared technology resources, while accelerating their own innovation through open source leadership and participation. Linux Foundation member contributions help provide the infrastructure and resources that enable the world's largest open collaboration communities.

ETSI/GNU/Linux-based MANO

ETSI is pleased to announce the availability of OSM Release FOUR. Bringing a large set of new features and enhancements, this version is the most ambitious and innovative OSM Release to date and constitutes a huge leap forward in terms of functionality, user experience and maturity.
This new Release brings substantial progress thanks to a number of architectural improvements, which result in a more efficient behaviour and much leaner footprint – up to 75% less RAM consumption. Additionally, its new northbound interface, aligned with ETSI NFV work, and the brand-new cloud-native setup, facilitate OSM’s installation and operation, while making OSM more open and simpler to integrate with pluggable modules and external systems, such as the existing OSS.

In monitoring, ETSI says OSM Release FOUR's alarm and metric settings are easier to use, and a new policy manager adds push notifications and reactive policy configuration, which the standards body says “opens the door to closed-loop operations”.
The monitoring module uses Apache Kafka as its message passing bus, and the module also implements a flexible plugin model so sysadmins can BYO monitoring environment.

Programming: GitLab, Security, Power and Jakarta EE

GitLab 10.8 was released this week with the open sourcing of a highly requested feature. The company announced its push mirroring capability is now open sourced.
Push mirroring was originally introduced as a paid feature, but GitLab says it is one of the most frequently requested to be moved into the open-source codebase.
This move will add a few new use cases for GitLab Core users, such as freelance developers being able to mirror client repos and users migrating to GitLab being able to use push mirroring to ease the migration path.

Enhancing the relationships between security and engineering is crucial for improving software security. These six steps will bring your teams together.
There's always been a troublesome rift between enterprise security teams and software developers. While the friction is understandable, it's also a shame, because the chasm between these teams makes it all the more challenging to build quality applications that are both great to use and safe.

Can energy usage data tell us anything about the quality of our programming languages?
Last year a team of six researchers in Portugal from three different universities decided to investigate this question, ultimately releasing a paper titled “Energy Efficiency Across Programming Languages.” They ran the solutions to 10 programming problems written in 27 different languages, while carefully monitoring how much electricity each one used — as well as its speed and memory usage.

The title of this post may seem strange, but if you look a bit into Java EE's recent history, it will make sense.
Originally, Sun started and ran Java Enterprise Edition, and later Oracle took over after it acquired Sun. Specifications were driven by a Sun/Oracle-governed process. At more or less regular intervals, they made a new version of the specification available, which was implemented by the server vendors. Those vendors had to license the technology compatibility kits (TCKs) and brand from Oracle.
Let's fast-forward a bit. In 2013, Java EE 7 was released, and Oracle began work on EE8, but it did not progress quickly. Meanwhile, new technologies like Docker and Kubernetes came along and changed the way applications run. Instead of running a single fat server process on a big machine, the software is now split into smaller, independent services that run in a (usually) Docker container orchestrated by Kubernetes.